Originally Posted by
cudak888
What ticks me off is that folks turn a blind eye to the fact that the similarities between Raleigh USA and Huffy end at the management level. The U.S. factory that produced Techniums did not produce Huffys - and while Techniums aren't C&V, they aren't bad at any rate either.
I was the plant manager of a factory in Kent when Raleigh came to town. I had some interactions with their team, and never warmed up to their bikes. I have owned a couple of Kent Raleighs, didn't keep them long, and at least on those bikes, the finish work was not the best. And not on par with similar grade Treks I have owned. I have had some Schwinns with mediocre finish work as well. I have never owned a high end Kent bike, they probably made some good ones with good finish work.
The Schwinns I really like from that era are the Tenax models and above.
I do like many of the mid grade Japanese bikes from that era, and consider many of them a good value.